It’s tough to know what to give someone else as a gift, and some people seem to have a special knack for finding utterly useless or obnoxious gifts. You can do this exercise from the point of view of either yourself or a fictional character of your choice. Imagine that someone has given you the worst, most annoying, most useless, yet expensive gift possible. Freewrite about one or more of the following:

• The gift itself

• The gift-giver
• The scene in which the gift is presented
• A short story in which the gift plays a prominent or pivotal role

Technorati Tags: journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

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Poke through some map collections, or pick out a favored map. Preferably look for something with a bit of character–some detailed terrain, old-style “here be dragons”-type stuff, and so on. Even better, go for a map of someplace you’re totally unfamiliar with, whether it’s a real-world location or a fantasy realm. Spend a little time poring over the map and imagining what this place might be like. Then set a timer for ten, twenty, or thirty minutes and free-write about it. Or, write a travelogue, a diary from the point of view of a tourist or traveler there, or promotional literature advertising the location as a vacation spot.

Technorati Tags: prompts, maps, write, writers, writing

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You can build an entire world beginning with a single image. Today, look at Dave K’s Beach Sunset. (If the photo is no longer available at that URL when you click through, use the alternate description at the end of this entry.) Spend a few minutes just looking at the photograph, taking in every detail–coloration, textures, topography. Then sit back, close your eyes, and imagine that you’re zooming outward until you can see some of the surrounding area. Look around, noting everything you see–animals, colors, people, structures. What changes and what stays the same?

Open your eyes and free-write for at least ten minutes or one side of a sheet of paper. If you like what you have so far and want to do more, sit back, close your eyes, and pan around to one side or another in your mind’s eye until you see something new and interesting–a change in the landscape. Again, open your eyes and start free-writing.

Finally, take a new sheet of paper and write down a list of details or rules that seem to hold true for this world that’s taking shape before you. This could be as meta (and broad) as genre or as specific as details of the society of people living on this world–if any.

Technorati Tags: photo.net, photographs, prompts, write, writers, writing

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Quick! Set a timer for 5 to 30 minutes and, as fast as possible, with as little thought as possible, make a list of crises that a fictional character could encounter. She wakes up in the middle of the night and hears someone rummaging around downstairs. She gets home and finds her door unlocked and ajar. She goes to the bank and her account–which had plenty of money in it–has been closed. You get the idea. If any of these leads you onward to more, go with it! If you run out of crises, start writing about all the possibilities for what could happen next in the crises you got on paper. Again, if one of these inspires you, go with it.

If you’re currently working on a piece of fiction, try using a particular character for this exercise. If you aren’t a fiction writer, consider using yourself or someone you know for this exercise. In the latter case, this could lead to some interesting journal exercises contemplating the place of crisis in your life and how you handle it.

Girl’s Best Friend Ornament (Oval)

Technorati Tags: characters, journaling, plots, prompts, crisis, write, writers, writing

Today, head on over to Diana Higgins’ entry, A Short Dictionary of Misunderstood Words, part two regarding the concept of betrayal. Give the entire fascinating thing a read-through, then set a timer for ten to twenty minutes (or set two sheets of paper in front of you), write “betrayal” at the top of your paper, and free-write whatever comes into your head.

Blank Journals

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Good writers eventually develop a style all their own. As contradictory as this may seem, sometimes one of the best ways to firm up your style is to play around with different things. Take a piece of writing that you’re already working on (or have finished). Pick just one discrete self-contained section of this piece, no bigger than a couple of pages at most (but hopefully at least a couple of paragraphs). Now, re-write this piece several times using different styles of writing. If you normally write non-fiction in a didactic, educational tone, write it playfully. Write it somberly. Write it melodramatically. If you write fiction experiment with melodrama, florid purple prose, dry bare-bones description, action-packed excitement, etc.

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Take a look at Kaushik Chatterjee’s photograph of Salema Khatoon for a moment. (If for some reason you’re reading this and the photo is no longer there, go to the end of this entry for an alternate description to work with.) Take in every detail of her face, clothing, expression, eyes, and body language. Look at each element individually and together as a whole.

Now, start writing about this young woman. Free-write about her for ten minutes or two sides of a sheet of paper (some people prefer to work with a time limit; others prefer to work with a space limit so they don’t have to watch the clock or set a timer). Let anything that comes to mind spill out; try to consider who she might be, what lies behind those deep eyes, and what her place in the world is.

If you’re a fiction writer, consider using her image as inspiration for a character in your fictional world and writing about that character.

Technorati Tags: characters, photographs, prompts, photo.net, write, writers, writing

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Wander around your house or apartment for a bit and really look at the items around you. Pick three items that just don’t go together; for example, I might grab an ivory-colored pillar candle, a surgical steel griddle, and a cat bed. Use all three items in one of the following types of writing:

• Free-associate off of the combination and free-write for at least 10 minutes or two sides of a sheet of paper.

• Write a scene that includes all three items.
• Describe a setting that includes all three items.
• Write a journal entry (from the point of view of a fictional character) that makes mention of all three items.

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